Alvarado,
34-2 (23), is coming into the bout looking to reverse his fortunes after having
been stopped in 10 rounds by Russian tough guy Ruslan Provodnikov in their
October 2013 tussle. While showing resolve and grit against Provodnikov,
Alvarado decided enough was enough and elected to stay on his stool after round
10. While the decision was probably the best move for both his health and the
ability to continue his career, it did draw criticism from some in boxing
circles who looked upon it as quitting, the ultimate boxing sin. However, those
who have seen Alvarado in his two wars with rugged Oxnard, California banger
Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios would be hard-pressed to label this guy a quitter.
Since
2011, Alvarado has faced Rios (twice), Breidis Prescott, (who handed England’s
Amir Khan his first KO loss years back), Mauricio Herrera, (who gave undefeated
junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia fits a few weeks ago) and
Provodnikov. Clearly, this isn’t a guy looking for soft touches. Mike is
looking to get back into the winner’s circle but despite facing a 40-year-old
opponent with a lot of miles on him, his assignment isn’t an easy one. Alvarado
will need all the resolve he can muster - and more - when he goes up against
the future, first-ballot Hall of Fame legend on Saturday night.
Though
seemingly ageless, Marquez had bandied about retirement after his last fight, a
frustrating split decision loss to Timothy Bradley for the World Boxing
Organization (WBO) welterweight title last October. At his age, Marquez is
probably taking his career on a fight-by-fight basis - but he wants to fight on
and going up against Alvarado should provide fight fans with another good one
from the Mexican star. The six-time world champion can walk away from the game
at anytime knowing he leaves an outstanding résumé that includes Manuel Medina,
Derrick Gainer, Manny Pacquiao (four times), Orlando Salido, Rocky Juarez, Joel
Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Michael Katsidis and Timothy Bradley.
While Alvarado is lacking in the experience department compared to the Mexico
City legend, Juan knows this is no walk in the park. With old foes like Bradley
and Floyd Mayweather as potential rematch possibilities for Marquez and hot new
guns like Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman tearing up the division, there are serious
options for the winner. A win for Alvarado gets him back into the thick of
things as an attractive player in a hot division. A loss for Marquez - at this
point - will have him taking a serious look at whether or not he has reached
the end. Conversely, a win puts him in a great position to see his career add
yet another high profile bout to an already legendary dossier.
Marquez,
who will be entering the ring for the 64th time as a professional,
said in a recent interview that “Alvarado is going to be dangerous during the
entire duration of the fight. We are going to prepare ourselves for whatever he
wants to do.”
In a
legendary southern California venue that has boasted some great boxing matches
over the years, this welterweight war could very well be added to that list.
